Barca duo and Juve defender on David Moyes’ shopping list

Manchester United boss David Moyes is keeping his options open with regard to new recruits after identifying a trio of stars that could bolster his faltering Red Devils squad.

The Scot was recently credited with an interest in a double swoop on Tottenham Hotspur for centre back Jan Vertonghen and midfield ace Mousa Dembele.

However, the Old Trafford manager has now turned his attention to the continent with Caught Offside suggesting a summer swoop for Barcelona duo Alex Song and Cristian Tello is in the pipeline.

United are now a distant 11/1 to secure a top four berth and their best chance of appearing in next season’s Champion League now looks to be a highly-unlikely triumph in this year’s tournament.

As such, Moyes is to be handed a transfer budget of between £100m and £200m – depending on your choice of tabloid – with key players required in almost all outfield positions.

As Moyes’ interest in Dembele indicates, United are in search of a defensive-minded midfielder in order to allow the more creative players to work their magic further up the field.

This is where former Arsenal ace Song comes in. The 26-year-old would offer protection to a back line that could well be without Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra next term and after failing to nail down a first team spot at the Nou Camp could be available for a relatively-low fee.

While shopping in Spain, Moyes is also expected to turn his attention to Tello, with Robin van Persie continually-being linked with a return to the Emirates and Javier Hernandez expected to seek first team opportunities elsewhere.

With those strikers potentially gone, United will become more reliant on the midfield for goals and the likes of Ashley Young, Nani and Antonio Valencia have struggled in that department in recent campaigns.

Tello has gone off the boil himself somewhat this year, scoring just four goals in 23 appearances for Barca, but Moyes will hope the former Espanyol youngster can rediscover the form that saw him net 15 times in his first two seasons for the club.

Talk is also rife that the United gaffer has earmarked Juventus star Martín Cáceres as a Vidic replacement.

This one has been doing the rounds for a while but speculation has reached a new high with Italian newspaper Tuttosport claiming a £7m bid is being readied for the Uruguay international.

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